Tag: Kenji Kamiyama

Posted on in Television News

‘Blade Runner: Black Lotus’ Anime Series Taps ‘Matrix 4’s Jessica Henwick, ‘The Wolverine’s Will Yun Lee & More For Voice Cast

Alcon Entertainment and Crunchyroll had teamed together for an anime series that takes place within the cyberpunk universe of Blade Runner. The dystopian alternative future where man has created a disposable workforce with Replicants, artificial humanoids that are mainly used as slave labor, sex workers, and soldiers on the off-world colonies with a limited lifespan.

The show called Blade Runner: Black Lotus has seasoned Japanese directors Shinji Aramaki (Appleseed) and Kenji Kamiyama (Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex) working on all 13 episodes with Shinichiro Watanabe (The Animatrix, Blade Runner Black Out 2022, Cowboy Bebop) set as a creative producer.

Deadline now says the English and Japanese voice cast will consist of Jessica Henwick, Arisa Shida, Will Yun Lee, Shinshu Fuji, Samira Wiley, Takako Honda, Brian Cox, Wes Bentley, Josh Duhamel, Taiten Kusunoki, Peyton List, Yoshiko Sakakibara, Stephen Root, Hochu Otsuka, Barkhad Abdi, Takayuki Kinba, Gregg Henry, Masane Tsukayama, Henry Czerny, Akio Nojima, Jason Spisak and Kazuki Yao.

Here is a rundown of who they’ll be playing.

Henwick/Shida voice Elle, a female replicant created for a secret and unknown purpose. Lee/Fuji voice Joseph, a mysterious figure who owns a spare parts junkyard in Los Angeles. Wiley/Hona voice Alani Davis, a fresh LAPD recruit. Cox/Hashi voice Niander Wallace Sr, founder and CEO of the Wallace Corporation. Bentley/Koyasu voice Niander Wallace Jr, brilliant scientist working for his father. Duhamel/Kusunoki voice Marlowe, a deadly Blade Runner. List/Sakakibara voice Josephine Grant, the wife of the police chief. Root/Otsuka voice Earl Grant, Police Chief of the LAPD. Abdi/Kinba voice Doc Badger, a black market dealer. Henry/Tsukayama voice Senator Bannister, a politician with strong feelings on replicant production. Spisak/Yao voice Hooper, a journalist in the pocket of the Wallace Corporation.

While Blade Runner 2049 director Denis Villeneuve has teased a Blade Runner 3, there aren’t any concrete plans for a third feature film despite how well-received the last installment was.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Film News

UPDATE: ‘Lord of The Rings’ Standalone Anime Film ‘War Of The Rohirrim’ Heading To Theaters; Focuses On King Helm Hammerhand

Earlier this week, it was announced that New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. Animation would be teaming for a brand new anime film set within the fantastical world of Middle-Earth created by British author J.R.R. Tolkien. The project will explore the origin’s of Helm’s Deep and King Helm Hammerhand of Rohan.

K̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶H̶e̶l̶m̶ ̶H̶a̶m̶m̶e̶r̶h̶e̶a̶d̶ ̶a̶p̶p̶e̶a̶r̶e̶d̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶v̶i̶d̶e̶o̶ ̶g̶a̶m̶e̶ ̶M̶i̶d̶d̶l̶e̶-̶E̶a̶r̶t̶h̶:̶ ̶S̶h̶a̶d̶o̶w̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶W̶a̶r̶ ̶a̶s̶ ̶a̶ ̶N̶a̶z̶g̶u̶l̶.̶ ̶O̶n̶e̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶g̶h̶o̶s̶t̶l̶y̶ ̶s̶e̶r̶v̶a̶n̶t̶s̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶T̶h̶e̶ ̶D̶a̶r̶k̶ ̶L̶o̶r̶d̶ ̶S̶a̶u̶r̶o̶n̶ ̶a̶l̶s̶o̶ ̶s̶e̶e̶n̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶T̶h̶e̶ ̶H̶o̶b̶b̶i̶t̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶L̶o̶r̶d̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶T̶h̶e̶ ̶R̶i̶n̶g̶s̶ ̶t̶r̶i̶l̶o̶g̶i̶e̶s̶.̶ ̶T̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶m̶i̶g̶h̶t̶ ̶e̶x̶p̶l̶a̶i̶n̶ ̶w̶h̶y̶ ̶W̶a̶r̶n̶e̶r̶ ̶B̶r̶o̶s̶.̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶N̶e̶w̶ ̶L̶i̶n̶e̶ ̶C̶i̶n̶e̶m̶a̶ ̶w̶e̶r̶e̶ ̶a̶b̶l̶e̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶d̶e̶v̶e̶l̶o̶p̶ ̶a̶ ̶f̶e̶a̶t̶u̶r̶e̶ ̶f̶i̶l̶m̶ ̶a̶r̶o̶u̶n̶d̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶c̶h̶a̶r̶a̶c̶t̶e̶r̶.̶ ̶

UPDATE: A producer on the project saw our original headline and has clarified on Twitter they won’t be taking the same liberties with Helm Hammerhand as the video game did and sticking to canon instead. Sorry, for the miscommunication.

The Lord of The Rings: The War of The Rohirrim will be directed by Kenji Kamiyama, who is likely best known to folks in the west for his work on the series Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Blood: The Last Vampire, and the series Blade Runner: Black Lotus, which has yet to debut.

Below is some examples from Kamiyama’s work.

It’s script will be penned by The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance’s Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews alongside Oscar-winning screenwriter Philippa Boyens acting as a consultant.

Below is WarnerMedia’s official press release from this week.

Twenty years after delivering the award-winning “The Lord of the Rings” Trilogy, based on the iconic books by J.R.R. Tolkien, New Line Cinema has partnered with Warner Bros. Animation to produce an original anime feature directed by acclaimed filmmaker Kenji Kamiyama that will plunge fans into a legendary battle that helped shape Middle-earth and set the stage for the epic adventures brought to life in “The Lord of the Rings” film trilogy. 

“The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim” explores and expands the untold story behind the fortress of Helm’s Deep, delving into the life and bloodsoaked times of one of Middle-earth’s most legendary figures; the mighty King of Rohan – Helm Hammerhand.

With Kamiyama (the “Blade Runner: Black Lotus” and “Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex” TV series) at the helm, the all-new standalone feature is being produced by Joseph Chou (“Blade Runner: Black Lotus” TV series) with Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews (“The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance”) penning the screenplay.  Oscar-winner Philippa Boyens, from the screenwriting team behind “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” trilogies, is serving as a consultant on the project.

Though a standalone story, “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim” is being created as a companion piece to New Line’s “The Lord of the Rings” Trilogy, with story and artistic elements woven throughout that will reconnect fans to the excitement and cinematic wonder of Middle-earth.